Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Holdings Cut by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,089 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up about 1.0% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $16,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 104,536.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,355,245 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,601,150,000 after buying an additional 8,347,260 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 61,754.7% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,842,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 5,832,730 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth $3,105,677,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,730,063 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,459,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17,046.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 973,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $492,803,000 after purchasing an additional 967,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total transaction of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,277 shares of company stock valued at $28,513,384. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $579.37 on Thursday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 12-month low of $415.60 and a 12-month high of $603.82. The company has a market capitalization of $220.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $564.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $10.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on TMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lowered shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $475.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $670.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $599.00.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.